Hinsdale area communities look ahead to 2013

New mayors coming, police discuss merger

December 31, 2012|By Annemarie Mannion, Chicago Tribune reporter

It's a new year, and it's impossible to predict precisely what will make news in 2013. Nonetheless, there are a variety of issues and people that will likely come to the fore in 2013 in eastern DuPage County. Here are some of stories to keep an eye on in the new year.

New mayors coming to Elmhurst, Lombard, Oak Park

Voters in Elmhurst, Lombard and Oak Park will be among those picking a new mayor in April. In Elmhurst, voters will decide who will replace Pete DiCianni who stepped down in November after he won election to the DuPage County Board. In Lombard, the voters will elect a new mayor to replace William Mueller, the longtime mayor who died in August from complications of West Nile virus. In Oak Park, where David Pope decided not to seek a third four-year term, voters will choose from Trustee John Hedges, slated by the Village Manager Association, and independent Anan Abu-Taleb, owner of Maya de Sol Restaurant in Oak Park.

Police departments discuss merger

The state may consider legislation as early as January that could allow the villages of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills to proceed with a proposal to merge their two police departments into one. It is projected that a consolidation would save the villages about $700,000 to $800,000 a year through elimination of administrative positions of one chief, one deputy chief and three sergeants. Those positions would be eliminated through attrition.

Project towers over Oak Park

The proposed development at Lake Street and Forest Avenue continues to inch forward. In December, the Village Board approved financing for the parking garage that would be at the bottom of the 20-story tower. The rest of the tower would contain apartments. The garage would allow parking spaces for tenants and the public. The original proposal for the tower was for a hotel and condominiums.

Bridge plans continue

The village of Hinsdale will continue to work on plans for replacing a 127-year-old steel-and-timber bridge that spans the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks just east of the downtown. Village officials have said they want to schedule a public hearing on the proposed plans for January. Current plans call for a two-lane bridge that will be three-feet higher than the existing bridge, 20-feet-wider and 50-feet-longer. It also will require some changes to Oak Street and other adjacent streets. Construction is slated to take place in 2015 and to be finished by 2016.

D53 seeks new school

Voters may have the chance in April to vote on questions related to a recommendation that a new school be built for elementary and middle school students in Oak Brook. Officials from Butler School District 53 put forward a plan to consolidate two schools into one, $40 million campus on village-owned land. The district is suggesting that it consolidate two schools, Brook Forest Elementary and Butler Middle School, at one new school that would be built on land at the SportsCore, 31st Street and York Road. District officials said they want to build a new school because the existing ones are each between 40 and 50 years old.

Search for village manager

In Oak Park, a new village manager should be coming in 2013 after Tom Barwin resigned in February while serving a little more than five years. In December, the Village Board interviewed six finalists for the position, filled in the interim by Cara Pavlicek.